Thursday, June 23, 2005
We arise early and get packed up... we are on the water and paddling by 7:40 am. Bottle portage is drier and easier to manage this time, although the mosquitos are terrible. We get on Lac La Croix and the wind from the south starts to pick up... and we have several miles to go paddling straight into it. We pass the portage at the Ranger cabins  We continue on, deciding to paddle the Boulder River and doing the 24 rod Portage instead of the 115 rod boardwalk into Agnes. Once we reach Agnes the wind is stronger and blowing straight into our face... I tell Bekah our oldest daughter to just paddle steady and we will be okay... she does great, she is also a beast on the portages... sometimes carrying two packs at a time... All of the kids are great especially now that I tell them we are going to go ahead and leave today because of possible bad weather coming. We make the crossing and head into the Nina Moose River where we are out of the wind and the paddling is easier... we come across an oddity here... a rock in the middle of the River with what appears to be "poop" on top  we all wonder if it is beaver, moose, bear, or what??? We all have a much needed laugh. We continue on uneventful other than meeting others coming in, and on the portages... and we marvel at some of the things they bring with them... We finally reach the last portage and do the 160 back to the truck and load everything... Kids are worn out, Wife is worn out, I am tired but wish I could stay longer... but it is better to cut it short than possibly scare the kids to where they might never want to come back... We get to Ely, and Voyager North where we sell sunscreen for Lynn because of the sunburn that all of us suffer from... The hot showers and cold beverages feel and taste great... we head to DQ for 1/2 pound hamburgers, drinks and ice cream before we head home... The kids all get T-shirts at V-North and Piragis before we leave... At 8:50 pm we start the journey south... barely missing the bad weather I had felt was coming.

Gear that worked well: 1. Olympus 500 Digital Camera. 2. Battery operated shower 3. Themacell mosquito repeller 4. New Cook Kit
I will post more pictures to my photo page here on the site... Now to get ready for next years trip...